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On Aug. 23, the organization that supports women entrepreneurs will provide training on IP and other legal topics. (Photo via Facebook)

Intellectual property law is a tough area to navigate, but it’s important for startups. And since fewer than one in five patents name a female entrepreneur, it’s an issue that’s of great interest to BEACON, the community-led organization to support female entrepreneurs in D.C., supported by Google, Georgetown Law, and Mayor Bowser’s office.

“IP serves as the foundation for many business operations,” BEACON fellow Deloris Wilson told Technical.ly. “and we want to make sure DC’s women entrepreneurs are best equipped to navigate this increasingly complicated space.”

BEACON decided to reach out female entrepreneurs in D.C. about their questions and concerns regarding IP law. They received back diverse responses, ranging from patent differentiation, copyright and trademark, the application process and more complicated matters concerning partnership/employee contracts and interstate sales.​In response, BEACON created Startup Law 101. The free workshop represents a coupling of “legal training with actual experiences of entrepreneurs who have made IP-errors—and had to fix their mistakes as a result,” Wilson explained. ​